12: Letzte Instanz’s Schuldig (“Guilty”) was a mostly uninteresting alt-metal album. But the songs were extremely catchy and stood out well one from another. Usually Letzte’s albums will have a few dud tracks which just don’t stick in the brain, but not this time around. This is as good of a pop metal album as anyone has produced, as far as I’m concerned.

11: Amorphis’ Skyforger caught me by surprise. Like Schuldig, it’s main asset is that its riffs are extremely catchy. Most of its songs in fact are built upon one or two riffs which are repeated through the whole song, which serves to make the songs very distinct in the mind.

10: Isis’ Wavering Radiant, however, is very unlike the previous two: the songs aren’t exactly what one would call catchy. But they are heavily atmospheric, and very heavy. The songwriting has improved since the last two albums, and after seeing them in concert this year I can also say they put on a great show.

9: Rome’s Flowers From Exile is a big departure from the martial atmospheres of their previous work. I liked those better, but the new Rome (self-described as “folk noir”, which will apparently continue with the next album as well) is hardly bad. It’s not as memorable as Masse Mensch Material (last year’s #2 album), but it definitely contains some emotive gems.

8: Eluveitie’s Evocation 1 – The Arcane Dominion was a worthy attempt at an acoustic album. The drums and bass give it a denser texture than one would expect from an acoustic album – almost as if it were a rock album (a la early Garmarna). For the most part the songs stand well on their own, though occasionally it falls into the rut of metal bands trying to go acoustic – the feeling that “this was originally a metal song” – though not nearly so much as bands which release acoustic versions of songs which were originally metal (e.g., Subway to Sally’s Nackt, Letzte Instanz’s Das Weisse Lied).

7: Faun’s Buch Der Balladen (“Book of Ballads”) would be several places ahead if it had more songs like Sigurdlied (“Sigurd Song”) and Tanz Über die Brücke (“Dance Over the Bridge”), brilliantly atmospheric harp pieces with haunting double-female vocals. As it is the album meanders around with mediocre to good songs around these two. They’ve chosen not to go experimental as they were playing with on Totem (2007′s #10 album), which you are immediately made aware of on the cover labelled “Acoustic”. It’s very much a throwback to early Faun overall, but that’s hardly a bad thing.

6: Subway to Sally’s Kreuzfeuer (“Crossfire”) doesn’t seem to have the touch that was apparent in Herzblut to Bastard (2007′s #2 album), but is still a worthy listen. There are a lot of catchy songs on the album, but they don’t have the unique folk-y sound that Subway at various points put on their songs. Nevertheless, their talent is still apparent, and the album is a fine listen.

5: Sólstafir’s Köld is an interesting mix of almost-black-metal, almost-post-rock compositions, and an almost-Western flair. Top it off with sludgy clean vocals, and it’s certainly a hard album to pin down to a particular genre. The dynamics of it, extended sections of minimalistic melancholy juxtaposed with towering anthems, make for a fine album.

4: Unto Ashes’ The Blood of my Lady was a big surprise, and by far the best album Ashes has ever made. The help from Sonne Hagal’s vocalist served well to make a much richer album vocally. The somber beauty of Sonne Hagal’s albums has also carried over, especially in the two songs lifted from Jordansfrost (Who Has Seen the Wind and Vengeance; by no coincidence the best songs on the album). There is much less of the eeriness that characterized earlier Unto Ashes albums (though it has not completely disappeared; I Will Lead You Down is very much traditional Unto Ashes).

3: Caspian has become one of my favorite post-rock bands. With Tertia, they’ve continued with wonderful and enthralling compositions – heavier than one would expect from Explosions in the Sky, for example, but never quite approaching post-metal from any direction. Tertia is even more heavily atmospheric than even The Four Trees (2007′s #7 album), with extended sections of reverbed guitar noise, and more experimental, with more glockenspiel and drum kits. It’s a fine listen, and like The Four Trees, rarely gets boring – a rare feat for a purely instrumental post-rock band.

2: Altar of Plagues’ White Tomb is a lot like Sólstafir, except more so. It’s clearly post-black-metal, with harsh vocals and sprawling compositions (though without any hint of uplifting shoegaze atmosphere), and again the dynamics are what make the album. The production is extremely good, and the atmosphere is masterfully woven, evoking somewhat of a post-apocalyptic angst.

1: Newcomer Wardruna bursts onto the scene with Runaljod – Gap Var Ginnunga, a beautiful and haunting concept album about the runic alphabet. Reminiscent of Karl Sanders but without the kitsch, Runaljod is minimalistic, heavily atmospheric, and extremely dark, weaving its themes through understated fiddles, ancient horns, distant chants, and a variety of improvised percussions. It’s definitely an album to get enveloped in, and I eagerly await the rest of the trilogy.

Best EP: Wolves in the Throne Room’s Malevolent Grain was leaps and bounds better than their forgettable full-length Black Cascade which followed shortly after. The first song, A Looming Resonance, is not only by far the best songs Wolves has ever done, but possibly one of the best songs I know (and I don’t say that lightly). With a dark shoegaze atmosphere constructed with black metal stylings and the immaculate vocals of Jamie Myers of Hammers of Misfortune, the result is an extremely emotive and poignant song. The other track Hate Crystal was above par for Wolves too: though more typical for them, the chord progression at the end also turned out very emotive. It’s a shame Black Cascade didn’t follow in this vein.

Best Artwork: Amesoeurs’ Amesoeurs.

Best Split: Though I was tempted to give it to Panopticon and Wheels Within Wheels’ It’s Later Than You Think, I can’t withhold it from Alcest and Les Discrets’ split. Alcest’s Percées De Lumière was more reminiscent of Amesoeurs than Alcest, and yet managed to sound better than Amesoeurs (though still not quite as good as Alcest from Souvenirs D’un Autre Monde (2007′s #3 album)). However the real standout from the EP was Les Discrets’ L’ Échappée, a beautiful not-quite-black-metal-but-heavier-than-most-post-rock song with strong vocals, confident percussion, and very present guitars. I look forward very much to what Fursy will create with his upcoming album.

Best Compilation: The World Comes to an End at the End of a Journey, featuring six post-black-metal artists Ethereal Beauty, Shyy, Heretoir, Soliness, Dernier Martyr, and Dopamine. Heretoir and Shyy were definitely the highlights of the compilation, but there was nothing worse than listenable on the whole album. The maturation of this scene as these bands release albums and get big is going to be a fine development in the still nascent post-black-metal-scene.

Tooting my own horn: Epta Astera’s SALIGIA was released this year. You should give it a listen!